260 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING. 



This preliminary explanation having been given, let us 

 see what a day in a blind brings ns. A party hav- 

 ing taken their positions in the sneak-boxes, with feet 

 towards the decoys, each man loads his guns and impa- 

 tiently waits for the aiipearance of the birds. If the day 

 is both cold and windy, he may see them moving about 

 in vast flocks, yet not hear a note from them, as their 

 cries are drowned by the roar of the storm. But if the 

 weather is comparatively mild, the honker, on seeing 

 them, tunes up his vocal organs; he is soon answered by 

 the leaders of the wanderers, and in another minute, 

 perhaps, the latter may wheel about and come directly to 

 the deceiver. 



''Here they come; lie low," is the command of the 

 veteran of the party. 



This is promptly obeyed, and everybody tries to force 

 himself into the smallest compass, while his heart beats 

 with excitement. The skein sees the callers on the beach 

 and descends to them with rushing wings, and both soon 

 commence chattering sociably to one another, and ex- 

 pressing their delight at meeting. An anxious gunner 

 partially lifts himself up at this moment, in order to get 

 a peep and a shot at the new arrivals, but he is soon laid 

 prostrate again by the order of the leader, v/ho hisses to 

 him to keep quiet until they get away from the " stools," 

 to prevent the latter from being shot. The geese leave 

 the decoys in a short time, and then comes the com- 

 mand: 



"Give them both barrels as they rise. Don't shoot 

 them on the ground." 



In another second five men rise in their coffins like so 

 many spectrcs and cock their guns. As soon as the geese 

 see them they become terribly frightened and attempt to 

 scramble away, but the steel tubes are too quick for 

 them, and before they can get fairly on the wing ten dead 

 and four wing-tipped birds fall to the ground or into the 



